In recent years, users have written a variety of information to blogs, forums, and other sites published on the Internet. Such information includes ratings and impressions with respect to shops, facilities, and tourist locations, for example. In addition, the managers and administrators of such shops, facilities, and tourist locations also provide information via a network. Viewers utilize this information published on the Internet as material for determining whether or not to make use of or visit particular shops, facilities, and tourist locations.
With the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-76280, the URL of information content published on the Internet is stored in association with location information related to that URL. Subsequently, JP-A-2000-76280 discloses that, as a result of a user providing a region that specifies the geographical location of a region he or she wants to look up, information content related to that region is referenced.
In addition, with the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-264766, shop location information is extracted from content, and structured information is created by using content summary information and the shop location information as information elements. Subsequently, when the present location of a mobile device is acquired, the structured information is referenced, shops existing in the vicinity of the present location are specified. Furthermore, JP-A-2007-264766 also discloses that content to be provided that corresponds to the specified shops is also created.
According to the technologies disclosed in JP-A-2000-76280 and JP-A-2007-264766, information content related to a user-provided location may be referenced. Herein, such information content may be information from blogs, forums, or other sites published on the Internet.
Meanwhile, with the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-303148, location information as well as rating information is acquired from the users or managers of shops or other facilities. Subsequently, JP-A-2003-303148 discloses that such rating information is delivered to the users of mobile devices existing in an area that corresponds to the acquired location information. Herein, the rating information is the type of information sometimes referred to as word-of-mouth information.
According to the technology disclosed in JP-A-2003-303148, rating information may be quickly delivered to users.